What Role Do Mobile Phones Play in Society?

1. What role do mobile phones play in society? Discuss the influence of technology on everyday life: relationships, social movements and education. Mobile phones have a major impact on modern society as they are increasingly useful social tools. In 2004, ‘there were almost two billion mobile subscribers world-wide’ Arminen 2007. The majority of worldwide businesses use this technology to communicate. Mobiles have changed the way people organise activities, meetings and social occasions, and generally the way people go about living everyday life. Mobile phones increase contact with peers, so a person can always know what’s going on with those close to them. They help people communicate more efficiently, anywhere on the planet. Mobile phones have developed multi-features they are more than just a phone and can be used for sending text messages, taking photos, surfing the internet, playing music, using a calculator, setting an alarm, playing games, sending email, checking the time, calendar, maps, GPS, banking, radio, business’s such as voice memos, and are capable of an amazing amount of functions and some have many more functions than a computer, have the added bonus of high portability. On the down side however mobile phones can break down personal barriers where a person can find it hard to have any personal time, or participate fully in their present environment without interruptions as the majority of people never turn off their phone, so there is always constant communication. Modern day society has formed a very strong reliance on mobile phones where most individuals cannot leave home without their mobiles and have developed a need to be constantly contacted. Overall mobiles have a very large influence on relationships. Mobile phones play a huge role specifically in adolescences relationships. Mobile phone technology allows us to communicate with social groups in new ways, and to reaffirm those relationships, regardless of distance. SMS connects individuals in a non intrusive way so time and physical location are no longer important boundaries to communication (Horstmanshof & Power, 2005) instead the shortness of the message is more important indicator of uptake giving rise to creative code. Horstmanshof and Power’s research looked at how the new communication was being taken up by what groups, and the rules, communication and social interaction of those groups. The results showed that SMS was mostly used to tighten close relationships. Mobile phones provide an easier way to communicate, and helps some shy adolescences become more social. Furthermore text message or SMS, help adolescences ‘check each other out’ (Cupples & Thompson 2010) without embarrassment of getting rejected by a potential partner. Mobile phones assist in taking away any awkwardness on the next appointment or date by getting to know a stranger or potential partner (Cupples & Thompson), by facilitating the asking of questions a person wouldn’t normally ask face to face. Despite their many positives mobile phones can have a negative side. All the availability leaves people with little personal uninterrupted. As Horstmanshof and Power describe ‘it's like you are inviting the whole world into your space’ at any time the mobile is on. The easily accessible, relatively cheap and individualised nature of mobile phones has increased their popularity to the point where they have changed the way people interact at work as well as at home (Geser 2010). Mobile phones are increasingly breaking down the boundaries between work and home. Mobiles have changed the way individuals make decisions from individual to more consultative, the way people report emergencies, the social messages of status or connectedness we send to others who witness our calls, the way people participate in the present with increasing interruptions, the way people keep social obligations and the way people can change appointments at short notice, the way we can access greater amounts of information, and importantly, the change from a specific, location based communication system (landline) to an individual recipient. Geser suggests mobiles allow an individual to carry the cocoon of another place to where we are at present which may be a different place emotionally as well as physically to our current location and we need to skillfully maneuver between the two. This is particularly important in the work home boundaries. We need to make new decisions about when we are interrupted and how to deal with the present social or work situations (Geser) which may result in more self control as well as more social control like requesting people turn off their phones before meetings. Geser also supports that with their great ease mobiles also raise some concerns about people but especially children being less independent, and about mobile phone use contributing to fracturing social cohesion through subgroups potentially challenging the norm and the lesser social influence of more formal networks to increasingly informal networks. Technology has evolved where a person can access almost anything on their mobile phone including the internet, so that information is very easily accessible. Mobiles can help students do calculations through the use of a calculator or using specific programs on a computer such as the SPSS program Swinburne University uses for statistics. Encyclopedias are readily accessed online mostly for free which helps a person access the information they need at any time regardless of library opening hours or physical location. Almost all information is available at a click of a button. There is also computer assistant learning programs (Cradler et. l 2002) such as ‘cogmed working memory training’ (a memory training used for individuals with short term memory difficulties) that can be accessed through the mobile. Individuals are also not limited to working on a farm if they live in regional parts of the world as there is university and high schools based online and accessible through mobiles. However there are consequences of having to much easily accessible information. People become too dependent on often superficial information and don’t research as thoroughly. Skills, such as spelling are often diminished as Microsoft Word corrects spelling mistakes and even helps with grammar. Less effort is required in modern day society where it can be argued people are fed information. It has also become easy to plagiarize (Snooks and Co, 2002) and copy other peoples work and pass it off as your own but also easily to be found out. References Arminen, I, 2007, ‘Review Essay, Mobile Communication Society? ’, Mobile Communication Society? , v. 53, no. 1 University of Tampere viewed 19 March 2010 http://asj. sagepub. com Cogmed, 1999 Karolinska Institute, viewed 6 April 2010, http://www. cogmed. com/ Cupples, J ; Thompson, L, 2010, ‘Heterotextuality and Digital Foreplay', Feminist Media Studies, v. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-17, Ebscohost viewed 19 March 2010 http://www. informaworld. com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a919196107 Geser, H, 2004, ‘Towards a Sociological Theory of the Mobile Phone’, ‘Sociology in Switzerland: Sociology of the Mobile Phone’, Google Scholar viewed 16 March 2010 http://socio. ch/mobile/t_geser1. pdf Horstmanshof, L, ; Power, MR, 2005, ‘Mobile phones, SMS, and relationships’, Humanities ; Social Sciences papers, v. 32, no. 1, pp. 33-52, Bond University viewed 16 March 2010 http://epublications. bond. edu. au/hss_pubs/75/ Snooks and Co 2002, Style manual for authors, editors and printers, 6th edn, John Wiley ; Sons, Milton, Qld. Published 2010